put off

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"put-off" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“put off” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To postpone, especially through procrastination.

Key facts for put off
PropertyValue
Headwordput off
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “put off” sits in English frequency

put off falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for put off is 7 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

put off has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is put off, spelled P-U-T- -O-F-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    To postpone, especially through procrastination.
  2. 2
    To delay (a task, event, etc.).
  3. 3
    To distract; to disturb the concentration of.
  4. 4
    To cause to dislike; to discourage (from doing).
  5. 5
    To emit; to give off (an odor, smoke, etc.).
  6. 6
    To take off (something worn).

This word in other languages

perecear(Español)ajourner(Français)hinausschieben(Deutsch)adiar(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "put off"?
"put off" is spelled P-U-T- -O-F-F.
What does "put off" mean?
As a verb, "put off" means: To postpone, especially through procrastination.
What language does "put off" come from?
"put off" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “put off”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-U-T- -O-F-F - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list